


every breath, every hour has come to this

by Spannah339



Series: Sun and Moon AU [25]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Hurt Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Platonic Soulmates, Rapunzel and Varian are Siblings (Disney), Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), lets go lets go lets go!!!!, sun and moon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26017291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: He was shivering, the more he came awake the colder it seemed. Eugene’s hand was in his, and for a moment, Varian considered dropping it. Leaving it.He didn’t deserve it.But he couldn’t bring himself to let go.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Series: Sun and Moon AU [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823434
Comments: 10
Kudos: 125





	every breath, every hour has come to this

The tree was cold. (The world was cold). Eugene’s hand was weaker than Varian remembered it, the strength of his brother seemed gone. Depleted. 

“ _ My fault _ ,” the voice in his head whispered. “ _ My fault he’s hurt. My fault we’re here _ .” 

He was shivering, the more he came awake the colder it seemed. Eugene’s hand was in his, and for a moment, Varian considered dropping it. Leaving it. 

He didn’t deserve it. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to let go. 

(Eugene was here. Eugene was  _ here _ and he was  _ alive _ . Varian  _ couldn’t _ let go). 

“ _ I just wanted to make you proud _ ,” he wanted to say. “ _ I just wanted to show you I’m not a kid. I just wanted to make them pay. I don’t know what I wanted but I know it wasn’t this _ .” 

He didn’t say anything, just sat, his back to the tree. Eugene’s hand in his. 

“I’m sorry,” he finally whispered into the darkness of the night. Eugene shifted behind him, squeezing his hand softly. “I - I…” he trailed off, tears beginning to prick his eyes. What had he done? 

“Hey.” Eugene’s voice was soft, quiet, weak. (How much blood had he lost? How much more  _ could _ he lose?) “S’okay, Blue.” 

“It’s not,” Varian said. He lifted his head, wishing he could see Eugene, wishing he could see his brother’s face. 

_ “I wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye _ .” 

“It’s not okay,” he continued, wishing he could wipe his face before the tears actually started falling. “I did…” He shivered. “I nearly…” The words caught in his throat and he blinked rapidly. 

Eugene squeezed his hand tightly, shifting as far around the tree as he could. 

“You’re still my brother,” he said quietly, and the blinking didn’t help. A tear rolled down Varian’s cheek. “No matter what you do, you always will be. And I will always be proud of you, Blue.” 

Another tear. Varian wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around Eugene, to be lost in his older brother’s embrace, to feel his warm and safe arms around him and to  _ know _ that he was  _ safe.  _ That Eugene was  _ alive _ and he was  _ here _ . 

But the ropes were tight on his wrist and the tree rough against his back and all he could do was hold Eugene’s hand as tightly as he could. 

The Stabbingtons had ignored them after securing them to the tree, settled around the fire and occasionally talking together. What Varian could hear didn’t sound good - talk of revenge and profit and magic. 

Eugene was still behind him, the soft sound of his breathing shallow and interrupted by occasional, unconscious noises of pain. Varian squeezed his brother’s hand, wishing he knew how to help. Was the wound that stained Eugene’s side with blood the same from the other night? Was it Varian’s fault his brother was bleeding out behind him and he could do nothing? 

The night drew on and Varian began to shiver. He could escape - he could, if he tried. He could bring the chaos he had wrought on Corona to this small clearing, awaken the rocks and split the night in two. 

But he couldn’t - couldn’t bring himself to do that. Not with Eugene beside him, not with Eugene’s hand weak in his own. He couldn’t let Eugene see him like that. Not again. 

He was half dozing when something caught his attention - a glowing  _ warmth _ , a rush of hope and concern. Jerking his head up, Varian looked around, squeezing Eugene’s hand and trying not to think about the lack of response. 

And owl hooted somewhere and the feeling grew. The glowing warmth, the hope, the protective rage and he knew - he knew it was  _ her _ and the thought sent tears to his eyes again. 

A loud cry shattered the night and chaos exploded in the clearing. 

Two figures appeared, one spinning a sword in her hand, the other what looked like a frying pan. The Stabbingtons, taken by surprise, put up only token resistance to the furious blows of the two women. 

Varian had eyes only for one. He watched as she spun, frying pan in hand, a snarl of fury on her face as she slammed the pan into one of the brother’s heads. He dropped and she turned. 

It was  _ her _ . 

Every memory of the cold night vanished as she hurried to his side, every ache and pain and heartbreak and grief and fear faded. Her hair lit up, glowing a brilliant yellow and escaping the braid it was trapped in, lighting the night as though it were day (because the sun was here now, she was, she  _ was _ ). 

His own hair was standing on end, the blue glow reflecting across her cheeks as she knelt before him, eyes shimmering with tears. Varian leaned into her, leaned towards her warmth, her touch, the completeness he felt as her hand cupped his cheek. 

“Oh, you’re wonderful,” she breathed and Varian closed his eyes, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. It was them, it was just them like it had always been. Moon and sun. Blue and yellow. Him and her. Nothing else mattered but her touch, her love, her presence. 

Somehow, his bonds had been cut and he reached forward, holding her face, wrapping himself in her familiar presence. He leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her, just as she held him, and nothing mattered anymore because it was them. It was them, and it had always just been them and she was  _ here _ and he wasn’t  _ alone _ . 

The light grew more intense until a flash of white rushed through the clearing, blinding him for a moment. When he opened his eyes and leaned back - hands still gripping her shoulder - the light had faded. Her hair had fallen, draped over her shoulders, over the ground and his own was dropping into his face, once again black. 

“I’m Rapunzel,” she said softly and Varian laughed because names seemed so unimportant in the face of her presence. 

“I’m Varian,” he said and her smile was enough to light up the dark again. 

“Hey, Raps. I know you’re kinda busy right now - but he’s not looking great.” 

The words pulled Varian rudely back to the world, to the present, to the cold clearing with Eugene still leaning against the tree behind him. The other girl was crouched beside him, one hand on his neck and terror swam through Varian. Ruddiger’s worried face peered out from under her hair, concern clear in his eyes. 

Varian scrambled away from Rapunzel, gripping his brother’s hand tightly. Eugene didn’t move and Varian felt his heart clench with unsteady fear. 

“Gene?” he whispered. Rapunzel was beside him, resting Eugene’s head on her lap. Varian sat on his other side, gripping his hand tightly with both of his, unable to look away from the terrifyingly large bloodstain on Eugene’s side and feeling  _ sick _ . 

“ _ Not again _ ,” he thought, mind spinning. “ _ Not again, please. Please, I just found you again. Don’t leave me!” _ But he couldn’t speak, could only grip his brother’s hand. 

“ _ Flower gleam and glow _ ,” Rapunzel began to sing, her voice unsteady. Varian reached forward to grip her hand with his empty one, his own weak, shaky voice joining her in song. 

_ “Let your power shine.”  _

_ “Make the clock reverse... _

Her hair was silent, dark, still. It wasn’t working and Varian felt the rushing, bubbling panic rise again. He was breathing quickly, eyes welling with tears that refused to fall. 

“Why isn’t it working!” Rapunzel cried, her voice frantic, terrified. She locked eyes with Varian, eyes that mirrored his own panic and fear. 

“ _ Bring back what once -” _

“Punzel..?” Eugene’s voice was weak, almost too weak for Varian to hear. Rapunzel leaned forward, brushing hair out of his eyes. 

“No,” she whispered. “Don’t leave.” 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he breathed. “It’s okay.” 

“ _ It’s NOT!” _ Varian wanted to shout, wanted to scream, wanted to rage. But he had already done that - he had already ripped the world to pieces and that had achieved nothing, nothing but the aching in his chest and his brother bleeding out in his arms again. So he only watched, gripping Eugene’s hand. Gripping Rapunzel’s hand. Feeling like he was falling and was never going to land. 

“We - we can fix this,” Rapunzel said, eyes shimmering. And Varian hated that - hated seeing his other half  _ hurting _ . Hated that he shared her very hurt. 

“You-you were my new dream,” Eugene breathed, and Varian felt like he was watching something he shouldn’t. But he refused to leave, refused to let go of the two hands he gripped tightly. “Look...look after him.” 

And Eugene closed his eyes, leaned back, let out a long breath and didn’t move. 

Varian couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move, couldn't breathe, couldn’t cry. Rapunzel sobbed, leaning forward to hold his brother close but Varian couldn’t move. 

“What once was mine,” she whispered, finishing the song through her choking tears. 

“ _ Not again _ .” 

_ “Please, not again. Not after I just found you _ .” 

Light began to shine. 

A soft, yellow light that glowed on Eugene’s cheek for a moment before vanishing. Varian watched, hardly daring to breathe. 

The light began to target the wound, growing, glowing, lighting up the world. Varian drew in a shaky breath, watching, hardly daring to hope. 

Rapunzel leaned back, squeezing Varian’s hand tightly, watching with eyes shimmering through tears as the tendrils of light shone, spiralling in the shape of a flower, twisting and igniting the world. 

It faded. 

Eugene  _ breathed _ . 

He took a shaky breath, eyes opening slowly and Varian gave a sobbing laugh. Eugene smiled a little weakly up at them and then suddenly he was holding them both, wrapping them in a hug, his head tight between theirs and Varian held him, clung to him, refused to let go. Rapunzel was warm beside him and Eugene was here and he was  _ alive _ and Varian never wanted to leave. 

Rapunzel pulled back and then grabbed Eugene's collar, moving forward to press her mouth to his. The sudden movement startled Varian and he laughed, leaning back to let them have their moment. 

When they had finished, Eugene pulled back and wrapped Varian close, fitting him under his chin like he had always done. Varian shut his eyes and breathed in his brother’s familiar smell. 

Eugene was alive. 

Rapunzel was  _ here _ . 

Everything was right and the world was warm.

**Author's Note:**

> Zeeeeeeb, Mum said it's MY TURN to kill Eugene 
> 
> We have a few small, quieter cool down scenes tying loose ends up - but we're pretty much finish 'season one'/the first arc of this series! Don't worry, we still have A LOT planned :)


End file.
